The present invention relates in general to a target, and in particular, to an electronic target for sensing the occurrence of one or more events.
When a person wishes to practice pitching a baseball or softball (hereinafter the discussion will be with respect to a baseball, but will also be applicable to a softball), that person generally needs another person to catch the ball and return it. Alternatives to this arrangement are to pitch an elastic ball, such as a tennis ball, against a wall so that the ball bounces back to the thrower, or to throw a baseball at a netting material stretched over a frame so that when the ball hits the netting material, it bounces back to the thrower.
The problem with these two alternatives is that it is difficult to determine whether or not the pitcher throwing the ball is accurately throwing xe2x80x9cstrikesxe2x80x9d or is instead throwing xe2x80x9cballsxe2x80x9d.
With today""s busy world, it is sometimes difficult for children learning to play baseball to find a partner to pitch to in order to hone the pitcher""s pitching skills. Therefore, what is needed in the art is some type of baseball target that allows one person to pitch at the target with baseballs, where the target provides some type of indication of the accuracy of the baseballs being thrown at the target and provides a determination of balls and strikes.
The present invention satisfies the foregoing needs by providing a target having sensors arranged thereon so that when the target is struck with an object such as a baseball or softball, it provides a determination of the accuracy of the ball pitched against the target. In other words, the target includes a defined area for strikes. The area of the target outside of this defined boundary will record a ball when struck by the baseball.
The sensors then transmit the ball and strike information in several ways so that the thrower is provided this information. One way is for a display to be coupled to the sensors where the display provides an indication of the number of balls and strikes recorded by the sensors when the target is struck with a baseball.
In another embodiment of the present invention, a speaker is provided with voice-processing circuitry so that the thrower of the baseball is told with an electronic voice whether or not the ball thrown is a ball or a strike.
Yet another embodiment of the present invention provides for a transmission of the information from circuitry located at the target to a display located near where the pitcher or thrower is standing. Such information can be transmitted by electronic wire or by some other type of signalling such as RF signals or light signals.
In yet another embodiment of the present invention, signals are transmitted to a beeper-sized receiver, which may be attached to the pitcher""s belt or pocket, where the strike and ball information is spoken to the thrower using voice-processing circuitry.
As an alternative embodiment, instead of providing an ability to sense the impact of an object, the principals of the present invention could be utilized with sensors that detect the passing of an object through a particular area or plane.
Furthermore, the present invention can be extended to serve as a target for other sports, including, but not limited to, kick ball, soccer, basketball, tennis, racquetball, handball, volleyball, etc. In fact, any sport in which there is required some degree of accuracy in performance could make use of the principles of the present invention.
And still further, the principles of the present invention can be extended to any situation where there is a need to spacially discriminate between any two events.
The foregoing has outlined rather broadly the features and technical advantages of the present invention in order that the detailed description of the invention that follows may be better understood. Additional features and advantages of the invention will be described hereinafter which form the subject of the claims of the invention.